A signing ceremony for the engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the Amiral complex took place at Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

The move “marks the start of construction work on the joint petrochemical expansion”, Aramco and TotalEnergies said in a joint statement.

Seven companies were awarded contracts for the construction of the project in Jubail, on Saudi Arabia’s east coast. The facility is slated to begin operations in 2027.

The project, first announced in 2018, represents an investment of around US$11 billion, of which US$4 billion will be funded through equity by Aramco and TotalEnergies.

The complex will enable Saudi Arabia’s Satorp refinery to convert internally produced off-gases and naphtha, as well as ethane and natural gasoline supplied by Aramco, into higher value chemicals.

It will have the capacity to produce 1.65 million tonnes per annum of ethylene and other industrial gases, Aramco said.

“As part of Aramco’s growth strategy, the project is anticipated to contribute to value-addition opportunities in the kingdom’s downstream ecosystem,” Aramco president Amin Nasser said at the signing ceremony.